Thursday, March 15, 2012

BHUBANESWAR: In a
tragic incident, a Russian woman drowned while bathing in sea at Puri on
Tuesday. The deceased Valutsa Irina (45), an ISKCON pilgrim, was part of a 66-group of foreigners, who reached Puri two days ago, sources said.
Irina and some other foreigners were swimming near Swargadwar beach
when the mishap took place. "She was sucked into the sea. Though
lifeguards dragged her out, she could not survive. She was declared dead
by hospital authorities," A K Dhar, inspector of Sea Beach police
station said.
Meanwhile, the police said it would initiate
action against a mutt for not informing the former about the presence of
foreigners. "As per law, the mutt authorities should have informed us
about the arrival of foreigners. During inquiry we found the mutt
flouting the rule," another police officer said.
This is perhaps
the first time a foreign tourist drowned in sea in the living memory,
even as nearly six domestic tourists have so far drowned in the Bay of Bengal
in the last three months. Last year, as many as 26 drowning incidents
were reported. Notably, a 70-year-old German tourist had drowned last
month while bathing in a swimming pool in Puri.